


when you see her

by amandamonroe



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s02e13 Happy Endings, F/M, Family Drama, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24479899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amandamonroe/pseuds/amandamonroe
Summary: Duncan reveals some family history to Charlie, Bass, and Connor in New Vegas. The Matheson-Monroe family just got even more complicated.claim #72 of Revolution: The Second Coming
Relationships: Charlie Matheson/Bass Monroe, Connor Bennett & Charlie Matheson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33
Collections: Revolution: The Second Coming





	when you see her

**Author's Note:**

> This was another fic I did years ago!
> 
> I forgot how much fun I had writing this one! There are some inconsistencies (and just plain rewrites) with canon, but that's what makes it fun, right?
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any recognizable content. I do not make any money from this. This is purely for fun.

Heading back to New Vegas had been a bad idea, but that’s all that was left these days: bad ideas and ill intentions. As they strode past the crowd of Poison fans, Bass couldn’t help but think that his thoughts were starting to sound like the lyrics of some shitty country song. While that may be true, he really did not want to be here. The last time he had resided in this so-called town he had just fallen from grace— _again_ , one of the darker corners of his mind whispered— and was slumming it as Jimmy King. The only good thing that came out of it was that he had managed to avoid being seen by _her_ ; well, that and Charlie had come to kill him. Probably not a good thing that those memories brought a smirk to his face.

Absent mindedly quipping with Charlie and Connor, Bass led the way into one of the larger, more decorated tents. As they stepped inside, Bass couldn’t help but think about doing this with electricity. If the blackout hadn’t happened, they would never be in a situation like this, but that was besides the point. He would take them to one of the nicer Vegas casinos, teach Connor how to work the table to his advantage, introduce him to some old friends. Charlie would insist on coming with, would probably lean on the table next to him all night, drink in hand. The flashing lights and glitz and glamour were almost unimaginable in this dim, torch lit tent, but Bass could do it. She’d shun those tight party dresses so many girls wore to the casinos, and laugh at the idea of stilettos.

Watching her watching the crowd, Bass couldn’t help but think of how _they_ ruined the world. Instead of chatting around the tables, drinks in one hand, cards in the other, his son and his—whatever the hell Charlotte was to him, he really needed to figure that out soon— were armed to the teeth and covered in a fine layer of dirt and other people’s blood.

“Hey,” Charlie’s hissed whisper shook him out of whatever trance he’d been in. “Someone’s coming at us.”

“Ah, shit,” Bass muttered and turned around to face the other two.

Sure enough, Gould was on his way over, the greasy haired bastard. Probably still bitter about that whole Jimmy King fiasco. Taking a deep breath, Bass made a decision that he really didn’t want to.

“Connor, Charlie, you need to go find Duncan. Right now.”

“Wait, what?” Great, now the kid decides to be stubborn. That’s fantastic, really.

“No.” Well, he expects it from Charlotte, at least.

Bass reached out and gave his kid a firm shove. Gould was fast approaching and they didn’t have time to argue.

“I don’t know who this person even is!” Connor started backing away, and Charlie seemed to press closer.

With a soft smirk, Bass replied “Oh, you’ll know her when you see her.” With that, he and Charlie turned to face the incoming obstacle of Gould.

* * *

You’ll know her when you see her? What type of advice was _that_? And, wait a minute; Duncan was a woman? Connor supposed that made things a bit easier, but still. He didn’t have a helluva lot to go on.

As he started to wander around the casino, he could hear the start of a scuffle near the entrance, which just so happened to be where he left his dad and Charlie. A pained shout reached Connor, and he winced, recognizing the tone as Bass’s. When he heard Charlie start screeching in outrage, he was so tempted to turn around, but they had trusted him with this, with finding this warlord. Wait. Was it warlady now?

Whatever the case may be, it was confusing as all hell.

After a few minutes, Connor came across what passed as a back room, where a private game was in session. He was about to turn away and continue his aimless searching when someone caught his eye. Without thinking, his hand went to the inside pocket of his suit coat to brush against the photo he kept there.

“Mom?”

* * *

As they were dragged out by Gould’s men, Bass couldn’t help but be impressed by Charlie’s ferocity. Gould had been pissed about “Jimmy King” owing him some fights after he left New Vegas the first time around. When he hadn’t wanted to go willingly, one of the goons had hit him in the back of the head with something heavy. Who cares what the hell it was, it hurt. But even as Bass hit the ground and blacked out for a few seconds, he was aware of Charlie fighting with Gould’s men above him.

In the end though, it was futile as they were both hauled to a fenced in area off to the side of the compound, despite Charlie’s kicking and protests. When the got tossed in, Bass hit the ground, hard. He was still feeling disorientated from the blow to the head, and it certainly didn’t help that it was at the back of his head. His vision was still flickering, mainly in his left eye and he briefly entertained the thought that if he keeps getting head wounds like this, he may lose vision in that eye entirely. If they make it out of this mess alive that it. And with the way things are going, it’s not looking very likely.

When Bass looked up, Charlie had her hand wrapped around Gould’s throat, his face smashed into the bars as they yelled threats and promises of violence at each other. Bass had long since stopped paying attention to the details of such things; as he saw it, people are always trying to kill or maim him. He usually finds out the specifics of it when they come at him.

From where Bass was crouched on the ground, still working on standing upright, he could see the exact moment that Gould’s men lose their temper with Charlie’s antics. One of them jammed a shotgun through the bars and into her abdomen. She crumpled instantly, hitting the ground with a gasp.

Moving as quickly as possible, Bass crawled to her side and grabbed a handful of her jacket, dragging her closer so he could prop her up. “Charlotte? Hey, hey, you okay?”

She had a hand pressed to her ribcage, but she seemed to be breathing fine, and was glaring at the retreating figures of Gould and his posse. Slowly relaxing as they retreated into the darkness, Charlie twisted around until her head was resting on Bass’s knee.

“I need to rest,” she whispered. “You should too. Who knows what they plan on doing with us come morning.”

With that depressing thought in mind, Bass curled up around her and prepared himself for a restless night.

* * *

That was impossible. His mother was dead. But as the woman at the table in from of him turned around fully, Connor realized that, while the resemblance was certainly there, the woman in front of him wasn’t Emma Bennett.

Huh. So that’s what Bass had meant.

“Holy shit,” the woman laughed. “I think I know who you are kid. I’ve been wondering where you’ve been for the last twenty odd years.” As she stood up from the table, Connor noticed the array of weapons hanging from her belt and the loose, yet confident way she held herself.

“Duncan?” He asked, trying to suspend his disbelief. The warlady they were looking for just so happened to look like his mother, her voice a dead ringer? No _way_ was this a coincidence.

“Ah, c’mere kid. From that look on your face, we’ve got a lot to talk about.” As Duncan lead him to an even more secluded corner of the casino, Connor tried to wrap his mind around whatever the hell was happening.

When they reached a quiet corner, she sat down and poured out a glass of whiskey, offering it to Connor with a smirk. “Here, you look like you need it.” As Connor gratefully tossed back the shot, Duncan asked him what brought him to New Vegas.

Connor found himself explaining the story to her, ending with “-and then he said I’d know who you were when I saw you and I have _no idea_ what’s going on!” He might’ve gotten a little frantic towards the end there. Oh well, he could blame it on the booze; Duncan had the good stuff.

For a few moments, Duncan just stared at him. “There is no way that you’re a Monroe; not with your looks.”

What.

Duncan took pity on his dumbfounded expression and poured him another drink before explaining. “Hell no, those are Matheson eyes all the way; you may have the curls like Sebastian, but there’s no way you’re his kid.” Shaking her head, she continued as Connor gulped down his drink. “No one’s teaching anybody about basic human genetics these days, are they? Look at your coloring! Now look at me and your Mom’s, compare it to Miles and Sebastian. If you were Emma and Sebastian’s kid, you’d have baby blues just like theirs.”

“Ah! That’s another thing; how exactly did you know my mother?”

In the first show of emotion since they’d met, Duncan gave him a soft smile and reached out to squeeze his hand. “I’m sorry about that kid, I miss her too. She was my big sister. My name was Paige Duncan Bennett. I got into a fair amount of trouble in my youth, but I was around enough to watch what was going on with my sister and her pretty solider boys. Pretty sure that I know more about those sordid affairs than they do. While our parents may have given up on me, she never did. Then the blackout hit a few years later, and I'm sure she tried to do the best she could by you. I’d have helped her, but I was in a corrections center by then— they’d finally caught me! Anyways, I got out and ran. Changed my name to Duncan Page, and here we are now.”

For a moment, all Connor could do was sit in silence. Then, “Why’d you change your name?”

Duncan burst out laughing, head thrown back and everything. “All that, and you choose to ask about my name? Well, Paige Bennett was a petty criminal; look at me now. I dug my way out of the rubble and came out a new woman. It just seemed fitting.”

“How do you know all this?” Connor asked in a whisper.

“Well, back then no one really cared if I was around. Emma was busy with all her friends and our parents certainly wouldn’t give me the time of day. When no one respects you, they don’t expect you to do anything.” She stopped for a moment, and Connor thought he saw a flicker of something in her gaze. But maybe it was just the candles. “Anyways, shouldn’t someone have told you all this? Where have you been getting you information?”

Connor mumbled “Miles,” under his breath; he really wasn’t all that keen on returning to this subject of Monroe versus Matheson. Duncan’s reaction was far more volatile than what he expected.

“Aww damn him; he just doesn’t want to take responsibility for his kids!” She shouted, and smacked her hand down on the table, hard.

Wait.

“…kids?” Connor asked weakly.

“Uh, yeah? Rachel and Miles’ affair, Charlie… seriously, you’re not following any of the family drama? That happened after you. You’ve got a half-sister out there!”

Connor reached out and dragged the whole bottle towards himself. He needed it. “So, that means that my half-sister is eye-fucking my ex father?”

This time, it was Duncan’s turn to look surprised.

* * *

When morning came, it announced itself with the smell of old meat, a loud clang, and Gould’s obnoxious voice as he explained to Bass how he and Charlie would be night’s entertainment as they tried to kill each other.

Once the asshole finally left- he would never _not_ hate that guy, he was a sleaze and the next time he looked at Charlie, Bass had plans to tear his eyes out- Bass turned to Charlie, who was still sitting on the ground.

“So, this’ll be fun,” he shook his head and crouched down by the mystery meat. Eh, no thank you. Food poisoning was not how he planned on starting the day. From the look on Charlie’s face, she had the same thought as she stood up. Brushing off her (incredibly form fitting) pants, she walked over and scooped up one of the dulled swords.

“Wow, I get another shot at killing you. This should be fun.” Despite her flippant words, she looked almost sad as she held the sword. “Damn, I should be thrilled about this.”

“Well, you’ve always been pretty damn stubborn. Maybe you just don’t like being told who to maim and when to maim them, huh Charlotte?”

At the use of her formal name, she glanced back up at him, and gave the smallest of smiles. “So, how are we going to get out of this?”

“What do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes and tapped his shoulder with the dulled blade. “I mean trying to stab each other tonight. I don’t know about you, but I’m rather fond of my life and limbs. I guess it could be worse; I could be stuck in here with Connor.”

Uh, rude? “What are you trying to imply?” He took a step closer, she let the sword tip rest in the dirt. Charlie shifted so she was leaning against it, her hip jut out as she eyed him.

“Hey, he may be your kid but he sure doesn’t have your skill set. I’d really have to sell myself short to make it a fair fight with him.”

“You just gave me a compliment,” Bass smirked at her.

This time, she was definitely smiling.

* * *

“Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me, I’ve told you this kid. Gould and I have a well known rivalry. I saw your two partners in crime in his holding area. He’s got a fight scheduled for tonight. Before then, we buy them back.”

“With what money?!”

“Um, with the diamonds I have buried under my casino. How about you just follow me and don’t say anything, okay?”

“Yeah. I can do that.”

* * *

By midafternoon, Bass and Charlie had both stripped down to their sleeveless shirts as they sparred. The sun wasn’t out and it was raining slightly, but they’d been going at it since they woke up. Bass couldn’t help but get distracted by his own train of thought, wishing they had woken up somewhere else, where they could’ve spent the morning getting sweaty in the course of a very _different_ activity.

Charlie took advantage of his slip in attention and disarmed him. “You’ve got to be more careful.”

For a moment, he thought she’d realized what he was thinking about. “Huh?”

“Your left side, you’re leaving it open again.”

Oh. That. “Okay, let’s take a break.” As they sat down along the fence, he debated not telling her, but it was obvious that she had noticed that something was off, so he might as well. And after all, this was Charlotte.

“A while back, I got too close to a bomb when it went off. I don’t have any peripheral vision in the outer corner of my left eye. Getting knocked out last night certainly didn’t help.” He took a deep breath and waited for her reaction.

“It makes sense now.” Her voice was quiet, thoughtful, almost.

“What does?”

Charlie shuffled in the dirt until she was sitting in front of him. “Well, it’s just the way you move I guess. You overcompensate when you turn your head to the left, and whenever we’re in a fight, you’re right side is angled at the opponent.” She was quiet for a moment, then: “And when we’ve been traveling, you keep me on that side. You really trust me to watch your blind spot, huh?”

He took a long look at her, and as disheveled and sweaty as she was, Charlotte had never looked more beautiful. “Yeah. I really do.”

* * *

In the end, their rescue was anticlimactic. Connor and his "Aunt" Duncan rode to the rescue, and they had an escort of a dozen mercenaries following them back to Willoughby. On the way, Duncan explained Connor’s whole paternity mess to Bass. At first, he was _pissed_ because Miles had lied to him again. But once he had cooled off, he realized that maybe it was a good thing. Connor had given him something to live for, a purpose as it were. Hell, maybe Miles didn't even know. 

Charlie seemed a little dumbstruck at the idea of a half sibling, but was slowly coming around. She didn’t even maim Connor when he called out “at least I won’t have to call you mom, huh?” The joke made Duncan cackle at least, even if it did make Bass avoid Charlie’s gaze for a few minutes. As their Willoughby safe house came in to view, Duncan gave a gleeful shout of “Thanksgivings are gonna be a helluva party around here!”

As Bass exchanged a look with Charlie, he couldn’t help but laugh. So, Connor wasn’t his son. That didn’t mean he couldn’t love the kid and help him. And the look on Rachel’s face would be _priceless_ when she spotted Duncan and heard the whole story.

Yeah. This was gonna be fun.


End file.
